


Stay for Me

by dcisamtyler



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Fluff and Angst, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-15
Updated: 2020-07-15
Packaged: 2021-03-05 02:00:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,790
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25286482
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dcisamtyler/pseuds/dcisamtyler
Summary: Originally posted on my Tumblr: @fics-by-dcisamtyler. Based on a request consisting of the two dialogue prompts: "Stay for me" and "You've never hurt me, ever."
Relationships: Eleventh Doctor/Reader, Eleventh Doctor/You, The Doctor (Doctor Who)/Reader
Kudos: 59





	Stay for Me

“Aha! I knew you weren’t that tired. Back-to-back trips, how about that?” the Doctor shouted, his voice echoing off the walls. His eager hands lingered over the TARDIS console, ready to get started. He waited for you to spit out a craving, an idea, something to jump-start a new adventure.

You always did. An urge to see castles took you on your most recent trip. A beautiful place called the Draconian Peninsula. 

The Doctor waited for a moment, listening to the low hum of the TARDIS. “Well, there’s lots to do, Y/N! Lots to see! A third trip to the Desert Peninsula? Dancing on the planet Motoz?”

You tried to avoid gaping at him. Back-to-back trips? The two of you had returned, tired and weary, from your trip to the Draconian Peninsula only a few hours before. Yet, now, the madman was already ready to send you flying into another adventure. The Time Lord could never stop, could he?

After you heard him say your name, you froze in the doorway, unable to move. Even with the careful effort you made to be quiet, he heard you padding your way into the room. After enough time with you, he could always recognize the sound of your footsteps, no matter what you did.

Taking in a shaky breath, you cursed the Time Lord’s heightened senses. The Time Lord was like an alien Spiderman. But yet, he didn’t even bother to turn around and look at you to see the sadness blooming out of your chest.

Instead, he stared up at the console with, what you assumed, was a wild grin that stretched from ear-to-ear. That was typical for him in this regeneration. He had the utmost fondness for his TARDIS. He had a connection with the machine that often amazed you.

Sometimes, you swore he had a fondness for you, too. Though you knew it was only platonic.

You could see it when he looked at you. He had wild green eyes and a smirk that sent your heart flying away from you. You had to run and catch your heartbeat every single time his gaze lingered on you for a bit too long.

And even now, without looking at you, he had your heartbeat skyrocketing.

The Doctor was bustling with a beautiful energy that was nothing but contagious. Usually, you tried your best to keep up with him. You often spent your days laughing together on a random planet. Or even standing together by the TARDIS console, dreaming of new places to see and things to do together. But that day, you knew you couldn't do it anymore.

Not that the Doctor would notice, of course. He was too busy getting excited about the next adventure. This one he chose himself. He moved around the console, laughter bubbling out of him. He pushed buttons and pulled an occasional lever. The TARDIS whirred along with him, happy little chirps as he got her ready for the next trip.

The Doctor didn’t even stop once to consider that you hadn’t responded to him at all since walking into the room. In fact, he didn’t even look at you. He must have assumed that you were happy to run off to the next planet like you always were.

The Doctor stopped to read one of the screens. It was in Gallifreyan - a series of circles and shapes you couldn't understand. His smile never faltered. “Great trip to the Draconian Peninsula, Y/N. But listen, I’ve got something better. The planet Sound. Whole planet’s covered in singing aliens – and get this, singing plants. Would you believe that? Singing plants!”

He glanced up at you, expecting a response of complete awe when he noticed your somber face. All at once, the bouncing Time Lord settled, his body softening and sinking into his suit. “Y/N?” he whispered, straightening his body to look at you.

It only took a second for him to abandon the console and walk over to you, leaving the TARDIS without a pilot. But nothing else seemed to matter to him. No. Not the TARDIS’s confused hums, the lights dimming as his emotions leveled out. He swallowed hard as you crossed your arms in front of your chest, closing yourself off to him.

That was the last thing he wanted. You leaned against the wall, your back flush against it. He stood in front of you, confusion and disappointment clouding in his eyes.

He was close now. Your heartbeat slowed as he stared at you. His gaze lingered over your face as if he was studying every single freckle on it. 

He knew you more than he knew any other human now. Yet, it seemed like he was trying to memorize every feature. As if he needed to remember you in another time when you weren't down the hallway or standing right next to him.

He knew what you were going to say before you even said it.

You knew this would happen. You had been dreading this moment since you got back from the Draconian Peninsula. 

When you got back, the Doctor strolled into the console room, suggesting a movie in the TARDIS theater. But you made a clumsy excuse about exhaustion after the trip.

He didn't even question it. He watched you slip down the hallway into your bedroom. But he didn't see how you closed the door behind you, sinking as your heart pounded against your chest.

You stared at the open suitcase waiting for you on the bed and sighed, knowing the Doctor would hate to see this. Still, this was the right thing for you to do. You couldn’t stay on the TARDIS anymore, not with the feelings you had for him.

You slowly plucked the clothes out of your dresser and placed them in the suitcase. Tears stung at your eyes. Regret was already pooling between your lungs, but you couldn’t stop. If you stopped, you would never leave, and you had to. You had to protect your heart.

So you walked around, taking your personal items and packing them. You couldn't help but wonder if you were making the right decision. You tried to fight it, but memories from the day flooded your mind.

You had told the Doctor you wanted to see castles. The Draconian Peninsula was the “Ireland of space,” according to the Doctor. 

You almost questioned what that meant until you stepped out of the TARDIS. Immediately, you stepped into lush green fields full of little yellow flowers.

You clutched onto the Doctor's arm in amazement as he led you down the cobblestone pathway. It led to a large field full of castles made out of space rock, their spires extending high into the sky. 

Over the course of the day, the two of you explored every single one of them. You laughed as you ran up every staircase, collapsing, out of breath on the top floor. But the view was always worth it.

Every castle had a different vantage point. The flowers, a milky yellow on the ground, had a different shade depending on which castle you stood from. You found yourself catching your breath at all the vibrant and pastel shades of yellow.

From the last castle in the field, the flowers were a bright shade of gold. It was your favorite one of the whole day.

The Doctor watched you with a dumb smile on his face. He snaked an arm around your waist, pulling you into his side as you stared over the field of flowers together.

“This is it, this could be our kingdom,” he joked.

You were fine with that. You leaned your head against his shoulder. He didn’t even know you would have done anything to share anything with him – a throne, the TARDIS, a happy life. 

He held you close, and after a moment, you turned to look at each other with lingering gazes. Your faces began to move towards each other, but at the last second, he pulled away. 

He began to walk down the castle stairs, leaving you alone. After a moment, you followed behind, wondering what you could have done to make him act that way.

It hurt. You were so sure in the beginning that it might have been a good idea to stay. You were so close to believing the two of you could have been more than friends.

And now, hours later on the TARDIS, he was staring at you again. His face clouded with a sadness you couldn't bear. 

"You want to go home," the Doctor mumbled.

"I—”

“Why?” he interrupted. He narrowed his eyes at you. “Did I hurt you?”

Well, he did almost kiss you in a castle surrounded by flowers and ran away before he could do so...

But you looked at him, your heart pounding. "You’ve never hurt me, ever.”

“Then stay. For me.”

“I can’t.”

The Doctor let out a sigh, trying to keep his hands loose by his sides. “Why do you want to leave, Y/N?”

You were silent for a moment. All you could do was force yourself to look into his eyes. The usually bright green seemed to wash away with disappointment. You swallowed hard. “Because I love you.”

The Doctor’s eyes widened. “You—”

“Love you,” you confirmed, your voice soft.

“And that’s why you can’t stay?”

You simply nodded, feeling the shame build in your chest. He was toying with you, wasn’t he?

The Doctor stepped forward again. Now, he was so close that you could see the little flecks of green brightening in his eyes. At the sight, your heart swelled. But it almost stopped as the Doctor placed a gentle hand on your waist. This time, he lowered his face to yours, an amused smirk curling at the end of his lips.

"Y/N L/N," he laughed.

You stared at him, trying to calm your heartbeat. What could be so funny in this moment? “What?”

“I was so afraid you didn’t love me back.”

"You...what?"

The Doctor placed a hand on your cheek, meeting your eyes. "Y/N, I love you, too."

Without even thinking about it, you leaned forward to clear the space between the two of you and kissed him. It felt like a thousand trips to the Draconian Peninsula all at once – warm, happy, yellow.

You didn’t even want to stop, but he broke the kiss, his eyes searching yours. You weren’t even completely back on the ground yet. It felt like you were floating, your heart soaring with a feeling that felt impossible hours ago.

The Doctor swallowed, licking his lips. “Will you please stay with me, Y/N?”

You smiled, leaning your forehead against his. “Of course.”


End file.
